Rolls-Royce has supplied main engines for a new ship assistance and salvage tug brought into service in the German port of Emden
It delivered a pair of MTU Series 4000 engines for tug Peter Wessels, which has 63 tonnes of bollard pull. Damen built this azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug to an ASD 2810 design after signing a contract with Louis Meyer in April 2020. Louis Meyer then chartered out Peter Wessels to Emdener Schlepp-Betriebe (ESB) to support ship dockings in Emden, in Lower Saxony.
The two MTU 12-cylinder diesel engines have a total output of 3,680 kW. Peter Wessels is the strongest ESB tug to date and can carry 32.4 tonnes. ESB operates four other tugs in Emden, which is primarily a base port for the Volkswagen Group and Europe’s third-largest automobile transhipment centre after Zeebrugge and Bremerhaven.
“For us, this tugboat is an investment in the future, as the car cargo ships that will be calling at Emden port in the future will be larger,” said ESB managing director Frank Wessels. “Peter Wessels offers sufficient reserves for the expected volume of ships,” he added.
In addition, Rolls-Royce has signed a 10-year long-term maintenance contract with Louis Meyer for MTU engines. “This covers all scheduled maintenance work that helps to avoid breakdowns,” said Rolls-Royce Hamburg sales team member Jacqueline Wünning.
Under the agreement, a care manager is available to the shipping company as a contact person throughout the entire term of the contract, supported by the MTU customer care centre.
Peter Wessels was built in Damen Song Cam Shipyard, in Vietnam and then transported to Europe as part of a batch. It was completed to Louis Meyer’s requirements at Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem, the Netherlands.
Added features include a winch on the aft deck for coastal towage of barges, a sewage treatment plant, a boiler and heated windows.
According to Tug Technology & Business data, Rolls-Royce has also supplied MTU main engines for six tugs being built in Poland by Remontowa for the Polish Navy and a series of escort tugs Nichols Brothers is building for Foss Maritime in the US.
MTU also supplied engines for tug Cyathea, built by Bogazici shipyard in Turkey for French owner Compagnie Maritime Chambon.
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